Suspect who shot Harris County deputy found dead

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A suspect who reportedly shot a Harris County sheriff’s deputy in the arm and prompted a SWAT standoff was found dead early Thursday inside a home near Spring.

Officials said it is unclear if the suspect died by suicide or was shot by deputies.

The incident began late Wednesday when four deputies arrived at a home in the 2500 block of Kiplands Way to make an arrest in connection to an earlier deadly conduct incident involving a weapon.

As deputies handcuffed the suspect, he allegedly pulled a handgun from his waistband and started firing, according to Deputy Thomas Gilliland, a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

One deputy was hit in the forearm while another narrowly escaped injury when the bullet grazed his pant leg. The suspect continued shooting and deputies returned fire.

Another man inside the home was wounded in the exchange of shots. Deputies said the man did not have anything to do with the deadly conduct charge and was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.

The gun-wielding suspect, still handcuffed, reportedly holed up in the home and refused to come out, prompting a late-night SWAT standoff.

SWAT eventually entered the home and searched the downstairs with the help of a robot. Officers scoured the second floor around 12:30 a.m. and found the suspect dead inside.

Officials did not immediately release the man’s name, but said he would be transported to the medical examiner for an autopsy.

“They will determine what gunshot wounds killed, whether it was self-inflicted or came from our deputies,” Gilliland said.

Meanwhile, the wounded deputy was rushed to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands and expected to survive.

Homicide and crime scene investigators took over the scene to determine what took place.